Final Smash

A Final Smash (最後の切りふだ, Final Trump Card) is a special attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and in Super Smash Bros. 4. Final Smashes are incredibly powerful in comparison to most other attacks, generally leaving the user invincible for the move's duration (the periods vary from character to character), are generally unblockable, and, if properly executed, usually have the capacity to KO at least one opponent. Final Smashes performed correctly will give the player a great advantage, and may help to catch up to others or cement a commanding lead. Many Final Smashes also temporarily slow down stage elements, such as platform movements and motions in the background.

To perform a Final Smash, a player must first either destroy a Smash Ball or fall sufficiently far behind that they are given a "Pity Final Smash". Once either of these happen, the player's character will be engulfed in a multi-colored aura and their eyes will glow a bright yellow; pressing the special move button in this state will trigger the Final Smash. However, as with any other item, a character with the Smash Ball collected may randomly drop it whenever damaged, which will then cause the Smash Ball to fly out of the character and return to play.

In Brawl, the majority of Final Smashes are powerful enough that they can be activated at any time and result in a KO if used properly. In SSB4, Final Smashes are universally much weaker, many of them no longer being able to KO opponents at low percentages.

Most Final Smashes cause the camera to temporarily zoom in on the user when activated, though in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, there are some situations (of currently unconfirmed nature) where this does not occur.

Only one Smash Ball or Final Smash can be present on-screen at any given time.

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It was revealed in an interview with Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata, that Masahiro Sakurai had intended for Final Smashes to be included in the original Super Smash Bros., even going as far as to record voice clips for each of the Final Smashes. The idea, however, was held off until Brawl. While the voice clips cannot be listened to in ordinary gameplay, the debug menu allows the player to listen to various clips that do suggest the idea, such as Ness yelling "PK Starstorm"!

A Pity Final Smash, called an Easy Final Smash in SSB4, occurs when a player is KO'd and is 5 points behind the current leader (thereby allowing the player in 2nd place or below to earn one, provided the gap is large enough.) This player respawns with the ability to perform a Final Smash. This Final Smash cannot be dropped by the player. Pity Final Smashes can be disabled only by turning the Smash Ball off; simply setting overall item frequency to "None" does not prevent players from getting them if Smash Balls are still turned on. In a 2 player timed Brawl, since the points differ by two for each kill, it is possible to go from a lead of 4 points to 6 without crossing the Pity Final Smash line. If a player SD's, and consequently loses only one point in an advantage, then a Pity Final Smash is possible.

While Final Smashes tend to be unique among characters, there are certain categories they can be sorted into.

Directional - These Final Smashes launch an attack in a single direction. Depending on the Final Smash, the direction can be controlled, while others are fixed. This kind of Final Smash has a blind spot, usually behind the attacker, where targets can hide.

Focused - These Final Smashes affect nearby opponents in any direction. Targets can avoid the move by getting out of range, so they're most effective on smaller stages.

Trapping - These Final Smashes attack a certain area, grab anyone inside said area (or just a single character), and lay down an inescapable beating. They generally have a small initial range and will fail (except Palutena's) if there are no targets caught.

Stage-Wide - These Final Smashes affect the whole stage, leaving little or no hiding spots. However, they may be less effective on larger stages due to the manner in which they stretch out.

Transformation - These Final Smashes only affect the user, who can then rampage around and cause damage. Some transformations buff up the character's existing moveset, while others use a different set of controls. Most transformations leave the user immune to damage and most status effects.

In tournaments, all items, including Smash Balls, are turned to off and none, meaning that Final Smashes do not appear in tournaments. While there has been some dispute in the past whether Smash Balls should be the only item turned on, due to resembling the "super move" concept of more traditional fighting games, the general consensus is that Final Smashes are heavily detrimental to competitive play. Just like with other items, the appearance and spawn location of a Smash Ball is random, which can lead to a player gaining a large advantage from just being in the right place at the right time. Most Final Smashes are also considered to have disproportionate power; simply using one competently will result in massive damage if not a clean KO of the opponent, accomplishing in seconds what could take several minutes for the opponent to match. The immense power of Final Smashes is also exacerbated by the frequent appearance of Smash Balls (which will spawn about every 30 to 45 seconds no matter what frequency the items are to appear), which heavily centralizes the match on "getting the Smash Ball" rather than outplaying the opponent. Finally, the loading time required before a Final Smash actually becomes available to a character is somewhat random and invisible to players, so one may end up using a neutral special for no apparent reason and possibly providing the opponent a free opportunity to counter.

Because items are turned to off and none, and tournament rules specify only 3 stock (or sometimes even less), Pity Final Smashes also do not appear in tournaments. One might argue that allowing Pity Final Smashes would allow a badly beaten player to stage a comeback, as they do not appear at random like Smash Balls do. However, this can only happen in a match of at least 6 stocks, which is considered to be far too high for tournaments (taking a very long amount of time to complete matches), and competitive players generally consider an element designed solely to aid a worse-performing player to be anti-competitive.